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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27761131">Jaehyun and the Pussycats</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayprotagonist/pseuds/gayprotagonist'>gayprotagonist</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops &amp; Cafés, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Fluff, M/M, Slow Burn, it’s about the Yearning, there are other characters but i wont clog their tags lol</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:01:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,775</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27761131</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayprotagonist/pseuds/gayprotagonist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaehyun’s quality of life went up the moment he adopted a second stray cat that reminded him of the cute barista he’s been crushing on.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Nakamoto Yuta</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>79</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Sakura Mochi - a yujae centered ficfest</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Jaehyun and the Pussycats</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this is prompt #43 for the yujae ficfest!!! i had a lot of fun writing this and i hope whoever prompted this enjoys ❤️</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
The late night air felt thick and stuck to his skin, leaving behind a light sheen of sweat. A breeze slipped by every now and then but it did very little to help. Jaehyun had begun to regret his decision to walk home. He had a commercial filming for skin care in the morning, a photoshoot for a small fashion magazine in the afternoon, and he just finished his radio show with Johnny. Johnny and his manager offered to give him a ride home but he turned them both down. He was worn out but there was something about having a full schedule that kept him buzzing under his skin— he thought a walk through the city at night might help relax him. Really all it did was make him feel gross so far. 
Jaehyun sighed as he pushed his pink hair back and slid his black baseball cap back on. His nose twitched uncomfortably under his black face mask. Soon, he reminded himself, he’ll be able to wash off all the sweat and the AC will be on and then Apple-
</p><p>
A pathetic, almost distressed meow came from the alley Jaehyun walked by. Had it been during the day, where cars were crowding the streets and people littered the sidewalk, he wouldn’t have heard it. Another meow had him peeking down the alley to find the source. It wasn’t difficult, besides trash and a box there wasn’t much in the alley. Slowly he walked to the box to peer inside. There was a short haired cat with white fur curled up in a restless sleep. Smudges of dirt and grime were stuck in the cat’s fur and it looked like some blood was dried to their forehead. Jaehyun frowned as the cat twitched in their sleep. He hunched close to the box. Seeing the poor cat in a dirty box, possibly hurt and obviously upset, tugged on Jaehyun’s heart strings. He pouted and carefully grabbed the box but when he barely got it off the ground the cat shot awake.
</p><p>
The stray was on their paws, back hunched, and hissed up at Jaehyun. Not wanting to startle that cat anymore he gently put the box down and pulled away, hands up and open.<br/>
</p><p>
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” he said softly to the cat, hoping they would calm down, “I’m not here to hurt you.” He pulled his face mask down, unsure if the cat would react better if they saw his face. He read something before about never covering your hands in front of a new cat so maybe this worked the same. After a moment the cat relaxed but didn’t take their big green eyes off Jaehyun. In return Jaehyun smiled. Hopefully his charms would work on a cat too.<br/>
</p><p>
“There you go.” He held his hands out for the cat to sniff but didn’t move closer. “I just want to make sure you’re not hurt.” It took another minute but the cat hesitantly stepped closer. Not taking their eyes off him they sniffed his hand. “See? Can I lift the box now?” Jaehyun waited for any sign the cat was okay with him only for the cat to crawl onto his leg and meow at him. The cat was sniffing him more before meowing even louder. Jaehyun blinked, eyes wide, but his expression melted into pure joy. He gave the cat a little scratch behind the ear and then picked them up.<br/>
</p><p>
“A boy.” He declared as he looked over the stretched out cat he held up. “Shoulder okay?” The cat purred and draped himself over Jaehyun’s shoulder.<br/>
</p><p>
The whole way home Jaehuyn pet the cat on his shoulder with a pleased little smile. </p><p> </p><p>Jaehyun paused at his front door with a pout. He had his keys in one hand and cat in the other. The cat was just staring at him, probably wondering why Jaehyun has now wasted three minutes not moving. He was thinking. He held up the cat so it was eye level with him. The cat squirmed a bit but otherwise stayed put.<br/>
</p><p>
“I have another cat.” A small meow. “I should have told you sooner. He’s nice. His name is Apple.” Another meow. “I don’t think he’ll fight you but cats are territorial. He’s usually calm but if he attacks you I’ll stop him and don’t start a fight-“ The cat wiggled his front paws, pressing them against Jaehyun’s cheek and nose. Jaehyun chuckled. “Okay, I get it.” He cradled the stray in his arm so he could unlock the door.<br/>
</p><p>
The apartment was quiet. A small table light was on in the living room where a black cat was curled up. With the noise the black cat looked up and meowed in greeting.<br/>
</p><p>
“Hey Apple. I brought a friend. You can meet after-“ The stray cat then started to struggle in Jaehyun’s grip. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” His meow was defiant and must have gotten Apple’s attention because now he was at Jaehyun’s feet, tail swishing back and forth.<br/>
Jaehyun shrugged and let the stray cat go. The stray cat’s paws landed perfectly on the floor with a thump.<br/>
</p><p>
Now on the same level, the two cats stared at each other. Both of them had their tails swishing back and forth wildly. Jaehyun watched. He was pretty relaxed even though it looked like the two were going to fight. Can’t stop their animal instinct.<br/>
</p><p>
The stray pounced first, but it wasn’t a claws out hissing jump. It was cute, more like a hop really, onto Apple. Apple fell back and the stray just started going ham on licking Apple’s head. They were both purring. Apple started to fight back, if that’s what you would call it, and licked the stray back. The scene was absolutely adorable. Jaehyun could just crouch there all night and watch the two of them. But he was sure both cats were hungry and the stray still had grime on him.<br/>
</p><p>
Jaehyun just put his hands under the stray’s front legs and Apple started hissing.<br/>
</p><p>
“You’re licking a filthy cat.” Jaehyun pointed out, as if either of them really understood him. Even if they did Apple still glared at him. “Let’s get him a bath.” With that the stray was in the air once more.<br/>
</p><p>
Cats were known for hating water. Jaehyun was aware of that. Apple didn’t like baths but only fussed for a minute or two before paddling around in the tub. He assumed the new cat would be the same.<br/>
</p><p>
The litter of scratches on his arms beg to differ.<br/>
</p><p>
Twenty minutes in, Jaehyun’s clothes soaked and the bathroom floor slippery, he still didn’t have soap on the cat. He was sweating from wrestling with the cat. Did they not have bones? How were they so strong? He went to the gym every other day. Why was this so difficult?<br/>
</p><p>
He moved the cat away from the tub with a sigh.<br/>
</p><p>
“I’m going to put you down.” He placed the cat on the sink but didn’t let go yet. “Stay?” The cat jerked in his grip. “Please?” Cats have empathy for sure because his pathetic pout kept the cat from running away.<br/>
</p><p>
Jaehyun peeked his head out of the bathroom.<br/>
</p><p>
“Apple?” He yelled followed by the classic ‘pspspspspsps’ sound. “Apple?” Said cat peeked down the hall. When Jaehyun motioned for him to come closer Apple stood by his feet with an inquisitive ‘prr?’<br/>
</p><p>
“Show your new friend that the water isn’t scary.” Apple’s meow sounded offended. Jaehyun picked him up. “I’ll give you tuna?” Apple looked him in the eye, looked at his arms, then back to him. He let out a low sound and Jaehyun took that as his okay. Slowly, he lowered Apple into the tub of water.<br/>
</p><p>
“Look, Apple likes the water. It won’t kill you.” Jaehyun went back to the stray who seemed to be glaring at Apple. He picked the cat up, hovered over the water, and waited for a reaction. Both cats were back to staring at each other. Jaehyun could only wonder if they were communicating somehow. Whatever it was, it got the cat to not tear up Jaehyun’s arm when his paws touched the water so it was a win.<br/>
</p><p>
Once the stray’s paws touched the bottom of the tub Jaehyun quickly went to work. Thanks to the strays warning growls he found a few of the scratches and was sure to be gentle cleaning them. The entire time Jaehyun said little words of encouragement. Apple stayed close by. Before they knew it both cats were wrapped up in towels.<br/>
</p><p>
“I should give you a name,” he said as he was drying off the stray. The cat was too busy purring at the attention. He pursed his lips as he mused over the name. It wasn’t until the stray was completely dry and he started on Apple that he spoke again.<br/>
</p><p>
“Cherry.” He smiled. “Is that okay with you?” Apple meowed as if he was asked. The stray, whose fur was now actually white and not off white with dirt, hesitated on his spot on the bathroom sink. When Apple was finished drying Jaehyun felt the other cat bump his head against his hand. “Cherry it is.” </p><p> </p><p>
Jaehyun slapped around on his mattress for his phone, somehow missing it every time, as the alarm was ringing loudly. When he finally swiped his alarm and sat up in his bed he saw both cats glaring at him from the doorway.<br/>
</p><p>
“Sorry,” he said groggily, voice rough with sleep. Typically, Apple would sleep curled up on the bed with him but since Cherry curled up in an armchair Apple snuggled against him. Jaehyun couldn’t really complain. The two cats were so adorable and he got a new phone background out of it.<br/>
</p><p>
After sitting on his bed, blinking the sleep out of his eyes for a few minutes, he started his morning routine. It’s when he was drying his face that he heard a loud meow from the living room. Cherry was at the window with the fire escape, paws on the window, and an expectant stare at Jaehyun.<br/>
</p><p>
“You want to go out?” A meow. “Do you want breakfast first?” An angry meow. “Okay, but you can always come back.” As Jaehyun pulled up the window Apple jumped up to Cherry and gave one lick to his forehead. Jaehyun cooed softly. Having two cats was amazing. Cherry hopped out the window and he could only hope Cherry would come back.<br/>
</p><p>
Apple nudged his head against Jaehyun’s arm. Apple was also an outside cat, another stray he picked up on the streets, but Jaehyun has yet to figure out what kind of schedule the cat was running on.<br/>
</p><p>
“I’m working late tonight, this is your last chance to go outside.” Apple jumped down and ran off into the kitchen. Oh, right, breakfast. At least Apple will eat with him before work.</p><p> </p><p>
“Why don’t you perform on Night Night?”<br/>
</p><p>
“We don’t really have time for me to do that,” Jaehyun said as he fiddled with his cup. He was in a coffee shop, it was small, cozy, decorated in earthy tones with enough plants to smell woodsy. Across from him sat his friend Doyoung, singer on the rise.<br/>
</p><p>
“You know that’s a lie,” Doyoung said. He frowned and leaned forward on the table. “And before you bring up Johnny he’d be more than happy to have you sing.”<br/>
</p><p>
Jaehyun brought his cup up to his face and avoided eye contact with Doyoung.<br/>
</p><p>
“I’ll, uh, think about it,” he said. Doyoung leaned back against his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.<br/>
</p><p>
“You know your voice is great, you wanted to be a singer before you became a model, it was your dream all through high school, and yet you’ve been turning down every opportunity to sing.” Doyoung huffed. “I don’t get it.” Something about the way Doyoung was staring at him, well, more like glaring, felt like if he looked long enough he’d get his answers. Jaehyun took a sip of his drink to avoid speaking.<br/>
The jingle from the door’s bell grabbed his attention. Jaehyun perked up and sat up a bit straighter when he saw who walked in. Thankfully that caught Doyoung’s attention.<br/>
</p><p>
Or, maybe not thankfully.<br/>
</p><p>
“Oh, it’s your barista boy-ouch!” Doyoung spoke way too loud and Jaehyun reached over to shove his shoulder because if the cute boy with long white hair, a smile that rivals the sun, and a laugh that could brighten anyone’s day, heard what Doyoung said he’d just have to die on the spot. He knew his ears were red, probably his biggest flaw especially when he’s trying to act, but tried to stay calm. “You didn’t have to hit me.” Doyoung said, rubbing his shoulder as if Jaehyun even put any real force into it.<br/>
</p><p>
“Don’t be so loud.” Jaehyun rubbed the tips of his ears nervously, stealing glances at the barista as he joined the others behind the counter.<br/>
</p><p>
“Maybe when you stop being a coward.”<br/>
</p><p>
“I’m not a coward.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Yeah? Then why haven’t you even tried ordering when he’s up there?”<br/>
</p><p>
“Because I already have my drink.”<br/>
</p><p>
“And? How are you going to get him to notice you if you never show your face in front of him.”<br/>
</p><p>
“I’m here aren’t I."<br/>
</p><p>
“Sounds like a coward to me.” Jaehyun knew Doyoung was just trying to rile him up. He knew and yet he was still falling for it. His painfully competitive streak never seemed to work in his favor.<br/>
</p><p>
“Fine, I’ll get something to eat,” Jaehyun said and he stood up. He walked over with his hands in his pocket, trying to look as casual as possible, while checking out the bakery case. There was nothing to be nervous about. Just getting a muffin, or cake, or some other sweet he really shouldn't be eating. Nothing weird, no way to embarrass himself in front of his crush he’s had for the past few months, everything would be fine,<br/>
</p><p>
“Hello, what can I get for you?” But having that cheery voice directed at him made his brain stutter. Jaehyun looked up from the bakery case to see his crush smiling at him. Once their eyes met the barista looked a bit...surprised? His smile dropped a bit and his eyes widened. It didn’t help with Jaehyun’s heart palpitations. How could someone look that cute?<br/>
</p><p>
There must have been an odd stretch of silence because one of the other workers behind the counter coughed into his fist. It startled both of them and his crush was already back to his smiley customer service face.<br/>
</p><p>
“Sorry, do you need a minute?”<br/>
</p><p>
“Oh, no, actually I wanted to know what you recommend?” When the barista turned to the bakery case Jaehyun quickly glanced at the name tag. Yuta.<br/>
</p><p>
“Are you allergic to anything?” Jaehyun shook his head. “Well, our chocolate chip muffin is popular but I have to say the blueberry one is my favorite.”<br/>
</p><p>
“I’ll get that then.”<br/>
</p><p>
The whole exchange was short lived. Nothing exciting or heart racing really happened but now at least he had a name, Yuta.<br/>
</p><p>
“So?” Doyoung asked when Jaehyun sat back down with a bag in hand.<br/>
</p><p>
“His name’s Yuta.” Jaehyun took the muffin out, looked it over, then took a bite. His nose scrunched up but he kept chewing.<br/>
</p><p>
“Is that blueberry?” Jaehyun nodded. “You hate blueberry.” Jaehyun stared at him as he took another bite.<br/>
</p><p>
“He recommended it.” Doyoung just sighed and put his head in his hands.</p><p> </p><p>
Jaehyun dragged his feet through the doors to the apartment complex. The moon was already bright in the sky and he tried not to think about how early he had to get up for another day of ‘looking pretty’ as his manager called it. It wasn’t that he hated his job, the radio show with Johnny was honestly one of the highlights of his week, but fashion and modeling was never something he saw himself in. Doyoung’s words from lunch echoed in his head. Would it be okay for him to try?<br/>
There was an impatient meow down the hall of his floor. Jaehyun pursed his lips and hurried to his door to find Cherry sitting by his door. With a smile he picked Cherry up.<br/>
</p><p>
“How did you get inside?” Cradling the cat in one arm he unlocked the door with the other. Apple was waiting at the door, big eyes staring up at them both. “Were you waiting for Cherry?” Apple meowed and rubbed against Jaehyun’s leg. He leaned down, grip tight on Cherry so he didn't freak out, and grabbed Apple with his free arm. With his hands full of cute cats, Jaehyun felt his mood skyrocket. This is it. This is all he needed to be happy.<br/>
</p><p>
His stomach had a different idea. It rumbled loudly just as he had gotten comfortable with both cats on the sofa. Apple looked up at him, no meow, and just stared. When Jaehyun didn’t move to get food Apple hopped off the sofa and walked into the kitchen. Cherry followed a second later. They both started yeowling.<br/>
</p><p>
“I’m coming,” Jaehyun said to them. After putting out two bowls of cat food out he got to work on feeding himself. While he waited for the rice to cook he noticed only one bowl of food had been eaten, the other untouched. He knew Apple ate because he started the moment he put the food down. Cherry didn’t even try. Maybe it was a stray cat thing. When he first got Apple he wasn’t enthusiastic about the dry cat food either but eventually caved in when he bought the higher end brands. “I’ll leave the food out for you,” he said to Cherry, showing him the full bowl before putting it back down.<br/>
</p><p>
He went back to his own meal, singing quietly to the song he played from his phone. Apple and Cherry were curled up together on the kitchen floor. Jaehyun cooed at them, taking a few pictures, before Cherry lifted his head to glare. His meow sounded more like a chirp.<br/>
</p><p>
“Sorry I woke you up princess.” An angry meow. Jaehyun chuckled. It was so weird how it seemed like his cats understood him.<br/>
</p><p>
There was enough food for leftovers, so he nestled the Tupperware between a bottle of juice and stray apple.<br/>
</p><p>
Both cats slept in his room that night, but Cherry refused the bed and slept on his dresser.</p><p> </p><p>
“So, Doyoung told me you wanted to perform during one of our shows?” Johnny asked once Red Velvet’s ‘Power Up’ started playing and their mics were off. Jaehyun knew they were still on camera but he slumped against the table anyways.<br/>
</p><p>
“I told him I’d think about it,” Jaehyun said nonchalantly. Johnny laughed and playfully slapped Jaehyun’s back.<br/>
</p><p>
“He said, and I quote, ‘I know Jaehyun won’t say anything so I will.’” Johnny leaned his chin on his hand, grinning at Jaehyun. “I don’t see the problem. I’m sure our listeners will love to hear your sexy singing voice.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Well,” Jaehyun shrugged, “we don’t have time in our schedule for it.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Let’s just switch out our advice corner one night. Your soothing voice is all they’ll need to wash away their worries,” Johnny said teasingly. Jaehyun sat back up and pats down the hair on the sides of his head.<br/>
</p><p>
“Maybe, I’ll think about it.” He caved, just a bit. Wasn’t a yes or a no but with both Johnny and Doyoung in on it he’s not sure how long he’ll be able to just avoid it. But Johnny seemed pleased with the answer and Jaehyun’s sure he’s aware that Jaehyun can’t run away from this now.<br/>
</p><p>
“Oh, he also told me you finally talked to Barista Boy.” Jaehyun would be angry at Doyoung for talking about his business if the three of them didn’t gossip about each other’s lives, to each other, as if they weren’t best friends. Neither of them had anything exciting at the moment so Jaehyun became the prime target.<br/>
</p><p>
“I finally got his name—it’s Yuta.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Our Jaehyunie, making moves again?” Johnny nudged his shoulder. “Can’t wait to tell Doyoung this might be serious.”<br/>
“I haven’t really talked to him yet.” Jaehyun leaned his chin on his hand and sighed. “I thought about giving him my number but it might be creepy.”<br/>
</p><p>
“And going to the cafe every other day to see him isn’t.”<br/>
</p><p>
“I get coffee.”<br/>
The topic was dropped when the song came to a close but Jaehyun kept thinking about just how he was going to talk to Yuta. </p><p>Apple and Cherry were both by the shoe rack to greet Jaehyun when he got home. They were actually probably hungry, but Jaehyun liked to pretend they were excited to see him out of the kindness of their kitty hearts.<br/>
</p><p>
“I’m home.”<br/>
</p><p>
Them meowing at the same time made Jaehyun giggle.<br/>
</p><p>
After setting out two bowls of cat food (they both were empty, so hopefully Cherry stopped being stubborn) Jaehyun remembered the leftovers he had the night before.<br/>
</p><p>
He reached inside the fridge, much too happy about day old chicken and rice, only for the spot to be empty. Weird, he put it between the stray apple and juice. Jaehyun searched behind the carton of milk, in the vegetable drawer at the bottom, but alas his leftovers were not to be found. He pouted and stared inside his rather empty fridge.<br/>
</p><p>
“Oh well…” He grabbed the apple before closing the fridge. Something tickled his ankles. Cherry was rubbing against his leg and looking up at him. His big green eyes almost looked sad. Jaehyun gave him a quick scratch behind the ear.<br/>
</p><p>
“Don’t worry buddy, apples are healthier for a model anyways.” Cherry pressed his head even harder against Jaehyun’s leg. “It’s late anyways.” That angry meow he was getting used to hearing. “I don’t feel like cooking-ow, Cherry!” The bite wasn’t that hard but it surprised Jaehyun. When he reached to grab Cherry he slipped away and jumped onto the counter. “Don’t go up there.” Jaehyun was whining at this point. He was tired and didn’t want to fight with a cat. Cherry reached up and taped one of the cabinets.<br/>
</p><p>
That made Jaehyun pause.<br/>
</p><p>
Cherry was an...odd cat. To say the least.<br/>
</p><p>
“I’ll eat more than an apple-“ Apple made an inquisitive ‘prr?’ “if you get off the-“ Cherry hopped off and stared up at Jaehyun from the floor. He couldn’t help the smile as he went about getting a bowl of cereal and cleaning the apple.<br/>
</p><p>
When he finished he glanced at the cat’s bowls to see Cherry’s wasn’t touched. Again. He looked around the small apartment with pursed lips and narrowed eyes. He found only Apple at first, cleaning himself on top of the sofa. Jaehyun grabbed him under his front paws and held him up in the air.<br/>
</p><p>
“Apple, I need you to do me a favor,” Jaehyun said, looking Apple in the eyes. “You have to get Cherry to eat.” Apple looked away. “Please?” Jaehyun moved his head, trying to make Apple look at him but it wasn’t working. “I’m worried about Cherry. It’s not healthy for him. You’re friends, I’m sure he’ll listen to you.” Apple made a low noise in the back of his throat. Before Jaehyun could keep pleading with a cat who didn't understand him he saw Cherry scurry in from the corner of his eye.<br/>
</p><p>
“You.” He put Apple over his shoulder and scooped up Cherry before he could bolt. “I ate, now it’s your turn.” Cherry squirmed and wiggled in Jaehyun’s arms. His meows were long and drawn out, as if he was suffering greatly at Jaehyun’s hands. Apple, on the other hand, was calm and purring on Jaehyun’s shoulder. He plopped Cherry down in front of the food bowls.<br/>
</p><p>
“Eat.” The human and the cat stared at each other. They stared and they stared and when Apple hopped off Jaehyun’s shoulder Cherry sprinted out of the kitchen. Jaehyun reacted just a little too slow, his hand grazing Cherry’s tail, and he slumped onto the kitchen floor.<br/>
</p><p>
“I tried.”<br/>
</p><p>
Apple scurried over and bumped their foreheads together. </p><p> </p><p>The next day his workload was light. He only had a shoot in the morning and the rest of the day was his. Both Apple and Cherry wanted to leave the apartment so he let them. They were both outdoor cats, he found them both on the streets, so he knows they know how to handle the city but he always wondered if he was going to see them when he was out.<br/>
</p><p>
Cherry didn’t eat breakfast either. Even when he sat next to him and encouraged him, showed him it was good for cats by feeding Apple a piece, and contemplated eating a piece himself to show the cat, Cherry didn’t budge. He could only hope the cat was eating something when he was wandering the streets.<br/>
</p><p>
But after his shoot Jaehyun decided to treat himself.<br/>
</p><p>
The familiar bell jingled when he entered the coffee shop. Inside was calm, the lunch rush was gone and only students with laptops and open books were around. As Jaehyun went up to the counter he was relieved to find Yuta behind the counter.<br/>
</p><p>
Yuta was hunched over the counter next to the register and looked to be drawing something, but Jaehyun couldn’t see just what. Yuta’s white hair was pulled back into a ponytail but a few strands of hair were loose and curled around his jaw. His eyes were narrowed, focused, and he bit his full bottom lip. If anyone else were paying attention to them he’s sure he looked like a freak just staring at Yuta.<br/>
</p><p>
To keep himself from embarrassing himself further Jaehyun cleared his throat. That yanked Yuta out of whatever he was concentrated on. Oh god, his big eyes were blinking up at Jaehyun, and then his lips pulled up into a smile—<br/>
</p><p>
“Sorry about that,” Yuta said, pushing the paper away. “Were you waiting long?”<br/>
</p><p>
“No, it’s alright. You looked so focused I didn’t want to scare you,” Jaehyun said. He smiled and Yuta only seemed to brighten at that.<br/>
</p><p>
“You wouldn’t be the first customer.” Yuta leaned against the counter. “What can I get you?”<br/>
</p><p>
“Large iced americano, please.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Your name?” Jaehyun blinked. That was a first. None of the previous workers had asked for his name before. It wasn’t even busy so his order wouldn’t get mixed up with anyone else’s. Or maybe he was overthinking this. Probably a new rule.<br/>
</p><p>
“Jaehyun.”<br/>
</p><p>
After paying, Jaehyun lingered by the counter. He tried his best not to obviously watch Yuta work behind the counter but he really wanted to push the strands of hair behind his ear.<br/>
</p><p>
“Here you are.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Thank you.” Their fingers touched when Jaehyun grabbed his drink and he never felt more like a middle schooler with a crush as his heart jumped.<br/>
</p><p>
He got comfortable on one of the armchairs. On his laptop there were about seven tabs opened to different youtube pages, all different songs spanning over a few different genres. With his earbuds in he went through a minute of each song, listening intently while sipping on his drink.<br/>
</p><p>
Since high school he had a list of songs he’d dream about covering and every day it would get longer. It only ever got longer and the older he got the more dust the list had collected. But maybe this time he’d actually pick one out. Maybe he’d even ask his friends for advice. They are the ones trying to get him to sing anyways, the least they could do is help.<br/>
</p><p>
From the corner of his eye he saw movement. He jumped in his seat, almost dropping his drink, and earbud slipping out. Someone was chuckling at him and when his brain caught up with his eyes he saw Yuta standing in front of his chair.<br/>
</p><p>
“Ah, sorry, I really didn’t mean to scare you.” Yuta’s eyes were practically sparkling when he looked down at Jaehyun.<br/>
</p><p>
“It’s okay, I wasn’t paying attention.” Everything would be okay if Yuta kept looking at him like that.<br/>
</p><p>
“Good, well, uh.” Yuta put down a plate and Jaehyun finally noticed he was holding a sandwich. “I got someone’s order wrong, and you didn’t order any food, so I wanted to offer it to you.” Something about Yuta’s smile was a bit bashful now. “If you don’t want it that’s okay-“<br/>
</p><p>
“No, it looks great.” Jaehyun didn’t take his eyes off Yuta. “Thank you. I was actually really hungry.” Yuta perked up at that.<br/>
</p><p>
“Perfect.” Yuta glanced up at the giant moon clock on the wall. “My shift is actually over now so I’ll see you later?” He already had his hands on the apron, untying the straps around his (very cute, very holdable) waist.<br/>
</p><p>
“See you,” Jaehyun said with a little wave.<br/>
</p><p>
Jaehyun stayed only for another hour after Yuta left. The sun was still up and he needed to cook himself dinner and hope this time his leftovers wouldn't disappear. On his walk home if he had an extra pep in his step he wasn’t going to acknowledge it. Yuta, with his shy smile and ‘see you later’, kept making rounds in his head. It was really a bare minimum interaction but he’ll take what he can get.<br/>
</p><p>
He walked down the hall to see both Apple and Cherry already waiting for him by the door. He shook his head with a chuckle.<br/>
</p><p>
“Who keeps letting you both in through the front door?” He’d have to ask which for the hundreds of tenants was trusting enough of the two cats. They were both adorable, and Apple did have a collar- “Oh.”<br/>
</p><p>
He was already in the middle of the living room when the thought hit him. Cherry was going to need a collar. Cherry curled up on the sofa and Apple was diligently cleaning himself by the door.<br/>
</p><p>
As he turned on the stovetop he decided tomorrow he’d get the collar.</p><p>“You picked up another stray?” Doyoung asked when he stepped inside Jaehyun’s apartment to see Apple and Cherry sitting next to each other on the window ledge. That caught their attention and in the blink of an eye Apple was in front of Doyoung. “Aww, Apple, come here.” Doyoung picked Apple up, scratching under his chin and beaming when Apple purred.<br/>
</p><p>
It’s been a few weeks since Cherry started coming over regularly. Some nights Cherry didn’t come back but it didn’t last longer than a couple days. He wore the collar Jaehyun got so if anything were to happen he’d (hopefully) get a call.<br/>
</p><p>
“Yeah, he keeps coming back so why not? I named him Cherry,” Jaehyun said. He was grabbing his keys and wallet but stopped when Cherry meowed softly. “What’s wrong?” Cherry smacked the window with his little paw. “Outside? Alright.” When the window creaked open Apple struggled out of Doyoung’s grip and ran out the window with Cherry.<br/>
</p><p>
"I'm honestly surprised Cherry keeps coming back," Doyoung said.<br/>
</p><p>
"I think it might be because of Apple."<br/>
</p><p>
“Cute, you have gay cats.”<br/>
</p><p>
The sun was as strong as ever for a late summer day. It was lively  along the streets, people out eating late lunches or shopping. Jaehyun followed the familiar path towards the cafe. Doyoung came over to one, make sure Jaehyun was alive, and two, because Jaehyun asked for help with picking a song to cover. Doyoung agreed easily with the promise of free coffee. He’s sure the chance to poke fun at Jaehyun and get more to gossip with Johnny about was also tempting.<br/>
</p><p>
They found an open table in the corner of the cafe. Doyoung setup while Jaehuyn got them their drinks. Sadly Yuta wasn’t working at the counter but he decided to think of it as a small blessing. Less for Doyoung and Johnny to work with.<br/>
</p><p>
When they were both settled with their drinks and laptop between them the bell rang aggressively. Jaehyun looked up from the laptop to see Yuta rush in, white hair up in a loose bun, and his shirt messily tucked into his jeans. He was out of breath, cheeks flushed and sweaty. He slowed down behind the counter and Jaehyun couldn’t help but notice the green jewels that dangled from his ears when they glistened in the sunlight. Jaehyun couldn’t hear what he said beside ‘late’ but that didn’t matter much when he had Doyoung waving a hand in front of his face.<br/>
</p><p>
“If you keep staring  you’re going to look like a creep,” Doyoung said with a grin on his face. Jaehyun jerked his head back to the laptop. Last thing he wanted to do was come off as some weirdo. “Order something you don’t like later so you can get your customer service interaction from him.”<br/>
</p><p>
Actually, Jaehyun had been coming to the cafe almost daily and had gotten around to actually talking with Yuta. It was simple things like finding out that Yuta was in a dance team and dropped out of university his second year because he didn't feel like it fit him at the time. Jaehyun talked about his radio show with Johnny and last time he came to the cafe Yuta even told him he listened in. The fact that Yuta went out of his way made Jaehyun’s heart flutter. Jaehyun wasn’t going to tell Doyoung about this just yet because that would mean Johnny would know and Johnny was much more relentless in his teasing.<br/>
</p><p>
“You weren’t kidding when you said you had a lot,” Doyoung grumbled as he scrolled through the list of songs with youtube links next to them. Jaehyun hunched closer to the laptop with Doyoung.<br/>
</p><p>
“I have a few I prefer but I want your unbiased opinion first,” Jaehyun said. Now if he actually listens to Doyoung, that’s up in the air. He wasn’t one to be indecisive but it felt like this had been years in the making. Johnny suggested throwing a dart and leaving it to luck, which he actually considered for a few days, but he’d save that for a last resort. Or next time.<br/>
</p><p>
“Well, right off the bat you can get rid of these.” Doyoung went to work crossing out the songs he didn’t like. They spent the next hour going through more of the list, listening to the songs together, debating on which would suit his voice more, and while some of his favorites were scratched off the list they were able to narrow it down to just five songs.<br/>
</p><p>
Doyoung glanced at his phone and his eyes widened at the time.<br/>
</p><p>
“Gotta go,” Doyoung said, “Good luck, let me know when you pick.” Doyoung stood up, pat Jaehyun on the shoulder, and rushed out of the cafe.<br/>
</p><p>
Jaehyun took that as his cue to buy something sweet.<br/>
</p><p>
It was mid afternoon which meant no lines or groups of customers waiting for their drinks. Jaehyun lingered by the bakery case and snuck glances to see if Yuta was behind the counter. There was another worker mixing some of the syrups together. Jaehyun had seen him a few times, young and probably a part timer. When he noticed Jaehyun he grinned, wide and mischievous.<br/>
</p><p>
“Yuta!” He yelled into the back before disappearing. There was a crash, a muffled yell, and then Yuta appeared, his cheeks rosy and an irritated expression. When he made eye contact with Jaehyun it melted into a smile.<br/>
</p><p>
“Hey Jaehyun,” Yuta said. He leaned against the counter. “You really have a sweet tooth.” He really didn’t but Jaehyun wasn’t about to let that excuse go.<br/>
</p><p>
“I might have to cut back soon before my manager finds out.” Yuta waved that off.<br/>
</p><p>
“He should let you live a little,” Yuta said, “Want something small then?” Jaehyun nodded. To keep himself from staring Jaehyun took out his phone and replied to a few texts.<br/>
</p><p>
“Are those your cats?” Yuta held the cookie out and had his eyes on Jaehyun’s phone screen.<br/>
</p><p>
“Yeah.” Jaehyun grinned and turned the phone so Yuta could get a better look. The picture was of Apple and Cherry curled up together on the sofa from the night he picked up Cherry. “They’re my cats. The black one is Apple and the white one is Cherry.” Yuta’s expression lit up with a giddy smile as he leaned in closer to get a good look.<br/>
</p><p>
“They’re so cute,” Yuta cooed, “Do you have more pictures?”<br/>
</p><p>
“Yeah, one second.” Jaehyun leaned against the counter, the two of them close as he went through his gallery, and the cookie between them, forgotten.<br/>
</p><p>
The door’s bells interrupted them. Yuta stood up straight to see if it was a customer and Jaehyun moved to the side with his cookie. Yuta’s face lit up.<br/>
</p><p>
“Taeyong,” Yuta said and leaned back over the counter. “You came just in time to see some really cute cats.” There was something mischievous in how Yuta looked at Taeyong. Taeyong looked as confused as Jaehyun felt until he noticed Jaehyun to the side. He looked surprised, reminding Jaehyun of when he first met Yuta, before smiling.<br/>
</p><p>
“This is one of our regulars, Jaehyun. Jaehyun, this is my best friend Taeyong.” They exchanged greetings and smiles. Taeyong had black hair that was long in the back but not as long as Yuta’s hair, he had earrings similar to Yuta’s but instead of green they were blue, and huge eyes that seemed almost unreal.<br/>
</p><p>
“You have cute cats?” Taeyong asked. His eyes practically sparkled after he shared another knowing look with Yuta. Jaehyun just chuckled and pulled the pictures back up on his phone. The three of them were against the counter, fawning over the pictures, until the part time employee barged in to let Yuta know the owner would be coming in soon. Then they scattered like cockroaches.</p><p> </p><p>Jaehyun yawned loudly as he opened the front door. He flicked on the lights, left his shoes by the door, and shuffled into the middle of the room. Cherry hopped down from whatever surface he shouldn’t have been on and rubbed against Jaehyun’s leg.<br/>
</p><p>
“Hmm, didn’t I let you out this morning?” Jaehyun squatted down to pet Cherry behind his ears. Cherry pushed his head against Jaehyun’s hand and purred loudly. The noise must have alerted Apple because he rushed in and started nudging against Jaehyun’s other hand. “I missed you guys too.” He grinned sleepily. Both cats were about to climb up to his shoulders but then his stomach growled. Loudly.<br/>
</p><p>
“I should have gotten take-out,” he mumbled to himself. Apple backed away from his hand and started harmlessly swatting at his legs. Cherry whipped around, tail swishing behind him aggressively, and ran up to the fridge. He took that as his cue from his cats to eat. Weirdos.<br/>
</p><p>
The thing is he knew there was no food in the fridge. He hadn’t gone food shopping because he was too busy (he could hear Doyoung in his head telling him that going to the cafe every day doesn’t count). All he had was a jug of water, a variety of sauces, and some cabbage.<br/>
</p><p>
Except that wasn’t all that was in his fridge. On the bottom shelf was a salad in an unmarked plastic container. Jaehyun grabbed it and looked over it with a furrowed brow. It looked fresh, all the green crisp and the chicken wasn’t slimey as if it had been forgotten. He popped open the top and took a quick sniff. Smelled fine too.<br/>
</p><p>
Jaehyun looked around the kitchen as if someone would appear. He didn’t buy this and he certainly didn’t make this. What would be the point of a stranger coming into his apartment to leave a salad? Doyoung has a key but he’d probably just show up when Jaehyun wasn’t working, or come over and cook when Jaehyun’s home.<br/>
</p><p>
Before he could stand there and muse over the salad any longer Cherry stepped on his feet, looking up at the human. Jaehyun stared blankly at the cat. He must have lost whatever patience a cat has because Cherry had his claws in Jaehyun’s legs the next second and meowed angrily.<br/>
</p><p>
“Ow, ow, ow, Cherry why, stop, what’s wrong?” He reached down to unlatch Cherry from his leg and ended up with a salad in one hand and a cat in the other, cradled like a baby. Cherry’s tail kept smacking against the salad. His meowing didn’t stop. “Is it the salad?” Cherry tapped Jaehyun with his tail. “Eat it?” Cherry did it again. Jaehyun was getting too comfortable with how aware his cats were. “I will so don’t attack me, okay?” Cherry went completely lax in his arm and he took that as his sign of approval.<br/>
</p><p>
Both cats had sat at his small dining table with him. Apple was cleaning Cherry who would try to return the favor but Apple was much more enthusiastic. The salad was good and didn’t taste like it was poisoned so hopefully he’d wake up the next day. It had chicken, nuts, fruit, and a mix of greens. What was really weird was that between the apple slices he found a single cherry.</p><p> </p><p>It had been two weeks since Doyoung helped him gut out his song list. In those few days he hadn’t had a chance to think about it again. His schedule was packed to the brim. He’d only been able to go into the cafe to grab a drink and run. Cherry and Apple were even being nicer to him.<br/>
</p><p>
But finally, after two weeks of make-up ads, commercials for skin care, advice corners with Johnny, and one too many shoots for the same magazine, he had a free day. He slept in just an hour later, went to the gym, relaxed with the cats until they both demanded to go outside, and when he was alone he decided that today he’d choose a song.<br/>
</p><p>
After he got to see Yuta that is.<br/>
</p><p>
It was noon so the cafe was as busy as could be. He already ate before coming since he knew how crazy the wait could get. Every chair, every table, seemed to be taken by business workers, students, young couples, but in the back corner he saw a table with one spot open. He hurried over before someone else could snag the spot.<br/>
</p><p>
“Sorry, could I sit here with you?” Jaehyun asked, his hand already on the back of the free chair. The stranger pushed his headphones off and looked up with big eyes and a friendly smile. “Oh, hello. Taeyong right?”<br/>
</p><p>
“Hey Jaehyun,” Taeyong said with a nod, “of course you can.” Jaehyun set himself and the laptop down. He felt a little awkward but he hoped it wasn’t too obvious as he fiddled with his laptop. They crossed paths a few times after the first meeting but that was about it.<br/>
</p><p>
“Are you here to work?” Taeyong eyed the laptop. Jaehyun couldn’t help the glance he sent the bustling counter. Yuta had his hair up as usual, the same green jewels hanging from his ears, and a smile on his face as one of the customers made small talk by the check out. “Or for Yuta?” He seemed to be holding back a giggle as he followed Jaehyun’s line of sight.<br/>
</p><p>
“Work.” Jaehyun was proud of himself for not stumbling over his words but he’s sure Taeyong wouldn’t miss how quickly he turned his head away.<br/>
</p><p>
"Oh, really?" Taeyong leaned back against the chair and kept his eyes on his laptop as if he was actually doing any more. He exaggerated a sigh. "I'm sure Yuta wouldn't have minded if it was for him."<br/>
</p><p>
Jaehyun peered over the top of his laptop. his ears were red so his cover was blown but maybe having Yuta’s best friend on his side would be a benefit.<br/>
</p><p>
“He wouldn’t?” Taeyong grinned brightly at that.<br/>
</p><p>
“I mean, I don’t think so,” Taeyong shot a glance at Yuta, “He has said that he likes when you visit the shop so…” Taeyong trailed off with a shrug. Jaehyun pursed his lips. He stared at his laptop, not reading anything on the scene but rather repeating what Taeyong had told him with giddiness.<br/>
</p><p>
Pleased with his handiwork, Taeyong went back to whatever he was doing on his laptop and left Jaehyun with Yuta brain rot.</p><p>“Taeyong left?” Yuta plopped down next to Jaehyun with a wrap in hand. Jaehyun looked up from the article he was reading about cat trees and pulled out one of his earbuds.<br/>
</p><p>
“You just missed him.”<br/>
</p><p>
“More for me then.” Yuta leaned closer, taking a look at Jaehyun’s laptop screen while eating his wrap. This close Jaehyun could smell the coffee and sweet syrups on Yuta. His heart fluttered in his chest. “Cat trees?” Yuta grinned widely as his eyes danced around all the different cat trees pictured. “You’re getting one?”<br/>
</p><p>
“I think my cats are getting too comfortable using me as a scratching post.” Jaehyun stretched his hands out to show the little cuts from their claws. Not that they hurt or he minded but his manager already made a few comments on how the cuts will be annoying to cover up. “And they might like having something new to climb on.”<br/>
</p><p>
“I’m sure they’ll love it. Especially that one.” Yuta pointed to a dark brown, green, and grey cat tree that was meant to look like a tree. It had two ‘branches’ with a hammock like fuzzy cloth between them. It was a bit more expensive than he was going for but it was really nice.<br/>
</p><p>
“You think so?”<br/>
</p><p>
“I know so,” Yuta said with so much confidence Jaehyun chuckled. “Really. I’m like a cat whisperer. I know what they like.”<br/>
“So all cats are the same?” Jaehyun pushed, grinning when Yuta glared at him.<br/>
</p><p>
“Well, no, but. Seriously, I can tell what your cats will like.” The next bite of his wrap had a little more force.<br/>
</p><p>
“You should meet my cats sometime then. Communicate with them.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Inviting me over already?” Oh, that was not good for his heart. Yuta was grinning but the blush dusting his cheeks was a confidence boost.<br/>
</p><p>
“You’re right, maybe we should get dinner first?” Yuta must not have expected that because the blush spread. He was still smiling, didn’t look away shyly, but maybe Jaehyun’s embarrassment was obvious as well. He’s not sure how so much blood could flow to his ears. He needed some for his brain.<br/>
</p><p>
“Are you free Wednesday night?” Jaehyun ran through his schedule for the week. It was Sunday, the radio show was Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights and most of his schedules were in the morning or afternoon but—<br/>
</p><p>
“I actually have a shoot that night,” Jaehyun said with a frown. He could see the smile on Yuta’s face slip so he quickly added, “But we can try next week. Do you want to exchange numbers?” Yuta was smiling again, crisis averted.<br/>
</p><p>
“Yeah.” Yuta entered his phone number and when Jaehyun went to look at the contact he smiled at the cat emoji next to Yuta’s name.
“Break’s over, so I’ll talk to you later.”<br/>
</p><p>
Yuta gave a little wave and went back behind the counter where it looked like one of the part time employees started heckling Yuta. </p><p>Jaehyun and Yuta start texting regularly after that. It’s usually always when they’re both working but Jaehyun can be found glued to his phone between whatever he’s doing. Johnny had started teasing him more than usual on their breaks during the radio show. ‘No one wants to see you on your phone for every break.’ The messages usually stopped when he got home but it was the perfect balance that made Jaehyun want something more with Yuta even more.<br/>
</p><p>
In between him and Yuta texting, Doyoung sends him a very aggressive reminder.<br/>
‘i didn’t forget about ur cover :-)’<br/>
And he must have said something to Johnny because not even a minute later he sent a message.<br/>
‘cover next week? ;)’<br/>
</p><p>
So that’s how he found himself back in his favorite cafe where he was just going to wait for Yuta’s break to hang out while he waited for his manager to come pick him up. But now he was staring at his last five options with both earphones in. Just as he opened wheeldecide to just make the choice for him Yuta plopped down on the sofa next to him.<br/>
</p><p>
As he pulled the earbud out of his ear to greet Yuta it must have gotten caught on something because it tugged the end out of his phone and suddenly Frank Sinatra was blaring from his phone at the busy cafe. He quickly muted his phone but it was too late the embarrassment was settling in. Yuta chuckled at him and while getting him to laugh was great it didn’t help him being flustered.<br/>
</p><p>
“You were listening so seriously to that. Everything okay?” Yuta leaned in to get a look at the song name on Jaehyun’s phone.<br/>
</p><p>
“Ah, yeah, I’m actually doing a cover on Night Night but I haven’t picked a song yet.” He fiddled with his phone, letting the same five songs stare back at him. Yuta nudged him with his shoulder and when Jaehyun looked up his heart skipped a beat at how impressed Yuta looked.<br/>
</p><p>
“That’s awesome. Can I see what songs you’re thinking about?” Jaehyun handed the phone over. Yuta took one of the earbuds and held the other up for Jaehyun. Each song Yuta barely took 30 seconds to listen to but it wasn’t until song choice four where on the first word Yuta stopped.<br/>
</p><p>
“This one. This is the song you should cover.” Yuta held the phone out for Jaehyun to take back, not even entertaining the last choice.<br/>
</p><p>
“You didn’t even listen to the whole song.” Jaehyun teased.<br/>
</p><p>
“I don’t need to. I can picture you singing this perfectly.”<br/>
</p><p>
“You haven’t even heard me sing yet.” Yuta smirked and plucked the earbud out.<br/>
</p><p>
“If it’s anything like your speaking voice I know I’m right.” Jaehyun didn’t really have a comeback to that so he took the compliment with a smile.<br/>
</p><p>
“Fly Me To The Moon,” Jaehyun repeated the song title, “I’ll go with it then.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Really?” Yuta blinked his wide eyes. “Just like that?”<br/>
</p><p>
“Yeah, I’m tired of thinking about it.” Jaehyun sunk more into the sofa. He cheekily nudged Yuta with his shoulder. “Will you tune in to hear me?”<br/>
</p><p>
“Of course.” Yuta nudged him back. “I’ll even record it.” Jaehyun laughed, cheeks alight and chest fluttering. Their thighs were touching and stayed that way throughout Yuta’s break. </p><p>Later that night, when it was just him and his cats at home, he pulled up the lyrics and went to work learning the first cover he was going to do in years. It might not be the most popular song choice and it might not be something their usual listeners are use to but after Yuta’s confidence and the approval of both his best friends he felt even more sure about this choice.<br/>
</p><p>
Cherry seemed to linger outside his bedroom door as he practiced. Used to the cat’s strange quirks Jaehyun left Cherry alone. It wasn’t until his last run of the song did Cherry finally step in. He stood at the side of the bed, staring at Jaehyun, and he finally paused to give Cherry attention.<br/>
</p><p>
“What is it?” He reached down and scratched Cherry behind the ear. The meow that followed sounded demanding. “Yes?” Cherry let out a displeased sound before hopping onto the bed. He stepped on the mousepad of the laptop and stared expectantly at Jaehyun. “You want to sing?” Jaehyun scratched under Cherry’s chin and all he got in reply was a low meow. Cherry ended up turning the music back on with a purposeful step then hopped off. He curled up next to Jaehyun to just stare at him some more.<br/>
</p><p>
“You’re such a weird cat.” With no reply to that Jaehyun went back to practicing. Very faintly he could hear Cherry purr.</p><p> </p><p>Rain slapped against the window as the wind howled. Lightening brightened the sky and moments later thunder echoed in the walls. Jaehyun laid across the sofa, book in hand, but his attention kept getting pulled elsewhere. Apple sat along the windowsill. His eyes were focused outside and didn’t even flinch when the thunder growled louder. Apple’s tail swung aggressively, every so often smacking the wall. Jaehyun pursed his lips and got up from the sofa.<br/>
</p><p>
“What’s wrong?” Jaehyun said as he got closer. Apple didn’t look up at him but meowed something...sad? He hesitantly placed his hand on Apple’s head and gently scratched behind his ear. “Are you worried about Cherry?”<br/>
</p><p>
Something hit the window and Jaehyun jumped up. Apple started meowing loudly, desperately, and pawing at the window. Jaehyun looked at what had Apple so distressed to see a familiar white lump on the fire escape.<br/>
</p><p>
“Cherry.” Jaehyun gasped and wasted no time pulling the window up. Rain poured inside the apartment, soaking his shirt in record time. He pulled Cherry up and felt his heart pick up at the weak growl. "It's okay Cherry, it's me." He cradled the cat close to his chest and watched as the window shut in front of him by itself. Had his cat not been in danger, maybe he would have freaked out about it but there were bigger problems at hand.<br/>
</p><p>
Through the soaked fur Jaehyun could see the patches of red where fur was torn and the blood that was staining the white now that the constant stream of rain was gone. There was a mean cut along Cherry’s forehead and another on his side.<br/>
</p><p>
He laid out a towel and gently put Cherry on it before grabbing another to dry the cat with. When he came back Apple was going between aggressively licking Cherry’s head and knocking their foreheads together.<br/>
</p><p>
“Hey, hey, stop that, I know you’re worried but—“ Apple growled when Jaehyun’s fingers barely brushed against his fur.<br/>
</p><p>
Apple’s tail then split in two.<br/>
</p><p>
He needs to wake up or he’ll die. Jaehyun jumped and stumbled back. Apple’s mouth didn’t move but no one else was there and his tail—there was no way Jaehyun’s vision could double on just a tail. Apple ignored his stupor and continued to nudge Cherry.<br/>
It seemed to be one thing after another.<br/>
</p><p>
A cloud of smoke, rather comically, covered both the cats. Jaehyun waved his hands around and the smoke disappeared much too easily. What greeted him was—<br/>
</p><p>
“Yuta?”<br/>
</p><p>
There, on the towel Cherry was just on, was the barista he’d been crushing on for months. His eyes were barely opened, brows furrowed in pain, full lips parted as he panted, and red staining his white hair.<br/>
</p><p>
Jaehyun snapped back to his senses. Yuta was hurt and how that related to his cat Cherry would…just have to wait.<br/>
</p><p>
“I grabbed the first aid kit.” It was the same voice but Jaehyun heard it differently. He snapped his head up to see the face of Yuta’s friend who visited the cafe often with his black hair, big eyes, blue earrings—just like Apple’s eyes. “Now that he’s in his human form the wounds won’t be as severe but he’s probably drained—Ah, sorry, this is a lot to take in but we’ll explain...later?” Something in the way the other spoke seemed like he wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth.<br/>
</p><p>
“Later.” Jaehyun’s tone left no room for argument. Yuta’s friend (Taeyong? Apple?) smiled at him and sat on the other side of Yuta. They went to work. Taeyong removed Yuta’s wet clothes and dressed the cuts and bruises along Yuta’s chest while Jaehyun cleaned the gash on his forehead. Around it the hair was matted with blood. Once he was sure all the bleeding was stopped and patched up he tried his best to get the blood out of Yuta’s hair.<br/>
</p><p>
“We need to get him into some dry clothes before he gets sick,” said Taeyong. “I’ve cleaned and patched him up the best I could—“ The man shuffled up to Yuta’s head and held out his hand. “Here, I’ll finish that and you can get him some clothes to borrow.” Jaehyun handed over the towel.<br/>
</p><p>
“Uh, Taeyong?” Jaehyun asked as he ruffled through his closet. He pulled out one of his warmest hoodies and a pair of sweatpants.<br/>
</p><p>
“Yeah?” Taeyong grinned up at Jaehyun, taking the sweatpants from him.<br/>
</p><p>
“Are you, uh...Apple?” Jaehyun felt the tip of his ears go warm.<br/>
</p><p>
“It really was a cute name for a cat.” Taeyong didn’t look offended or weirded out but Jaehyun could really just have the ground under him swallow him whole. Was he calling this man in front of him Apple for how long? How was he even Apple? If there wasn’t someone who almost died on his floor that needs taking care of he’d wish for death to take him now.<br/>
</p><p>
“Alright, are you okay if we put him on your bed?”<br/>
</p><p>
“Yeah, that’s okay.” Jaehyun got up to help Taeyong lift Yuta but Taeyong easily lifted him up. To try and be useful Jaehyun pulled back the covers so they could tuck him in to keep warm.<br/>
</p><p>
“I’ll change back into Apple until Yuta wakes up so you don’t feel uncomfortable.” That might not be the word Jaehyun would use but it was too late for this not to feel weird— regardless if Taeyong’s as a cat or human.<br/>
</p><p>
“If you don’t want to it’s okay.” Taeyong looked genuinely surprised. “I can make us some coffee?” He smiled warmly at that.<br/>
</p><p>
“That sounds good, thank you.”<br/>
</p><p>
To say it was awkward at first was an understatement. The two of them sat at Jaehyun’s table in silence with mugs of coffee in hand. But when Jaehyun finally broke the silence to ask about Taeyong’s life outside of being Apple, the tension melted. Taeyong was a dance instructor which explained the weird times he’d be out. He does have an apartment with a few other friends, all supernatural, and has known Yuta for a very, very long time (Jaehyun really wanted to ask how long. Was he into dilfs?). When they started exchanging artists they liked Yuta waddled in. The blanket was wrapped tightly around him, the wear and tear of whatever he went through evident in the tiredness in his eyes. In the third and final seat Yuta slumped down.<br/>
</p><p>
“Coffee?” Jaehyun offered. Yuta just shook his head.<br/>
</p><p>
“Sorry,” Yuta mumbled guiltily. He didn’t continue right away but the other two didn’t push Yuta to hurry up. “I wasn’t really sure how to tell you any of this.” Jaehyun nodded for Yuta to continue. “Honestly? I planned to have Cherry just run away if we started, um, dating.” Taeyong scoffed.<br/>
</p><p>
“You would have had to tell Jaehyun sooner or later if you were going to date.” Yuta groaed.<br/>
</p><p>
“I know, you’ve said that millions of times.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Taeyong’s not wrong.” Jaehyun added. Yuta groaned, practically whined, louder at that.<br/>
</p><p>
“I know.” Jaehyun had a lot of questions. He wasn’t upset, well, maybe not yet because of the shock of just everything but he certainly was confused.<br/>
</p><p>
“Before you ask anything we should probably start by telling you what we are,” Taeyong said. Both Yuta and Jaehyun nodded. “We’re usually referred to as  Nekomata. Essentially we’re cats who lived long enough and got lucky to develop supernatural powers. We were born as cats but we’ve lived among humans for so long that I feel like I’m just a human shapeshifter.”<br/>
</p><p>
“There aren’t a lot of us,” Yuta adds, “If you compare us to humans or to other supernatural creatures we have some of the lowest numbers.” Jaehyun stayed silent as he tried to process what he just learned. He decided to start small with the questions.<br/>
</p><p>
“Powers?” Saying it out loud just felt fake even if he watched his cats disappear and turn into men right before his eyes.<br/>
</p><p>
“Oh yeah, we can levitate,” Taeyong said as he started levitating above his chair. Jaehyun watched with wide eyes. Maybe a bit of jealousy in that.<br/>
</p><p>
“We can shape shift too,” Yuta added. When Jaehyun turned to look at him he just found another Taeyong. He looked between the two.<br/>
</p><p>
“Sorry, it’s hard for me to shapeshift on the spot.” Yuta returned to looking like Yuta.<br/>
</p><p>
“Anything else?”<br/>
</p><p>
“We’re naturally stronger than humans?” Yuta shrugged as if he was not getting what was just so cool about them.<br/>
</p><p>
“Oooh.” Jaehyun nodded. Taeyong lifting Yuta made so much more sense now. Both nekomatas stared at him, waiting for any other questions.<br/>
</p><p>
“Do you actually like eating cat food?” Taeyong burst out in laughter and Yuta scrunched up his nose in disgust.<br/>
</p><p>
“Do I even need to answer that? You could never get me to eat that shit.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Even though I got you the expensive brand.” Jaehyun pouted but just like no amount of pouting got Cherry to eat dry cat food, the pout didn’t make Yuta look any less offended.<br/>
</p><p>
“Guilt is the only reason I started eating it,” Taeyong admitted, “After being human for so long it’s hard to go back to pet food.” Jaehyun nodded as if he really understood.<br/>
</p><p>
“So why do you even stay with humans?”<br/>
</p><p>
“We have to keep up appearances,” Yuta said.<br/>
</p><p>
“And that means…?”<br/>
</p><p>
“Well, some people still have a bad image of nekomata. They think we’re like, going to kill their children and take their body so we can kill the family. Something like that. But really we’re just cat people with some low risk powers.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Is that why you were attacked?” Jaehyun asked Yuta.<br/>
</p><p>
“Yeah, but you don’t have to worry about them anymore.” Yuta smiled a little too wide, felt a little too forced.<br/>
</p><p>
“That’s good. I want you to be safe.” Jaehyun didn’t look Yuta in the eyes as he admitted it but that meant he got to see the smirk Taeyong sent Yuta’s way. Yuta cleared this throat.<br/>
</p><p>
“Any other questions?”<br/>
</p><p>
“I think that’s all the information I can take tonight.” A beat of silence.<br/>
</p><p>“So...what do we do now?” Jaehyun’s brain already felt fried—he had a full day of work, had the adrenaline rush of thinking his cat was going to die, then found out his crush was more than just a normal cat person, and now this conversation.<br/>
</p><p>
“That’s up to you,” Yuta said, “we can leave and...pretend none of this happened. We can keep pretending to be your cats. We can stop that and just be friends? But, just, please don’t tell anyone about this.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Of course not,” Jaehyun quickly said, “I wouldn’t want to put either of you in danger.” Both Taeyong and Yuta sighed in relief. Silence stretched on for a moment and Jaehyun tried to sort through his thoughts.<br/>
</p><p>
“This was all weird.” Yuta deflates a bit. “But I don’t think I want to just stop being your friend because of this.” Yuta’s eyes widened and he leaned agaisnt the edge of the table.<br/>
</p><p>
“Really?” He sounded so excited, so happy, so relieved, that Jaehyun smiled wide.<br/>
</p><p>
“Yeah, but maybe you both could hang around less as cats.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Aw, but you thought we were so cute,” Yuta teased.<br/>
</p><p>
“We’re your phone background and everything,” Taeyong added.<br/>
</p><p>
“Wait, when I met you in the alley as a cat,” Jaehyun turned to Yuta, “were you okay with me because of Taeyong?” Yuta clapped.<br/>
</p><p>
“I could smell Taeyong on you so I knew you were the human he was using as a cover.”<br/>
</p><p>
“But we actually haven’t seen each other for a long time,” Taeyong said. “That’s why I was so excited when you brought Yuta home. We were separated for about twenty years?”<br/>
</p><p>
“Yeah, around that.”<br/>
</p><p>
“You met when you were kids?” Both of them looked at Jaehyun. Taeyong sheepishly and Yuta with a smirk.<br/>
</p><p>
“Nope,” Yuta said and left it at that.<br/>
</p><p>
Jaehyun was going to have to accept he’s into dilfs. </p><p>They both ended up staying the night. Yuta said they would leave if he needed space but Jaehyun refused.<br/>
</p><p>
“It’s storming still and you almost died.”<br/>
</p><p>
Neither of them could argue with that so stay it was. Yuta drew the line at taking Jaehyun’s bed but said he’d take the couch. After trying to make the couch as comfortable as possible Jaehyun retired to his room before Taeyong turned back into a cat (back to Apple).<br/>
</p><p>
When he woke up the next morning, brushing his teeth with his eyes closed, is when he realized something.<br/>
</p><p>
<i>“if we started dating”</i><br/>
</p><p>
Jaehyun froze.<br/>
</p><p>
Dating.<br/>
</p><p>
He spat out his toothpaste, quickly washed his face, and hurried into the living room.<br/>
</p><p>
Only Taeyong sat on his couch, scrolling through his phone idlely until Jaehyun stepped in. The frown on Jaehyun’s face must have given him away.<br/>
</p><p>
“Yuta had an early shift.” Taeyong mirrored Jaehyun’s frown. “He’s still recovering so I told him not to but honestly I’m not sure he even heard me.” Taeyong fiddled with the phone in his hands nervously.<br/>
</p><p>
“I don’t have work today so I can check up on him.” Taeyong’s shoulders slumped in relief.<br/>
</p><p>
“Thank you. I have class soon but I was going to skip to check up on him.” Jaehyun waved it off. After exchanging numbers he promised to text Taeyong an update when he got to the cafe and Taeyong was gone.<br/>
</p><p>
Jaehyun got ready quickly and was out the door soon after Taeyong. It was fairly early, with the sun still stuck behind so many of the high rise buildings. If there wasn’t the boost of adrenaline from remembering the accidental confession this morning Jaehyun would not be moving as fast as he was. In record time he was through the cafe doors.<br/>
</p><p>
The morning rush was coming to an end with many of the office workers grabbing their drink trays and hurrying out. Jaehyun sat down on the sofa. Yuta was on register while three coworkers were rushing around the back of the counter trying to keep up with all the drink and food orders. Yuta was smiling, but it was tired, and the bandage on his forehead was strategically covered with hair but that didn’t hide the lack of energy he had.<br/>
</p><p>
One of the workers, the part timer he remembered from before, lingered by Yuta. He helped him get the coffee orders in between warming up food. It was honestly amazing how efficiently the three of them were working around Yuta. When Yuta dropped another thankfully empty cup Jaehyun caught the very tall coworker glancing over in concern.<br/>
</p><p>
There was nothing Jaehyun could currently do so he waited until the rush dissipated completely.<br/>
[JAEHYUN]<br/>
‘im at the cafe. hes working but is really out of it.’<br/>
[TAEYONG]<br/>
‘&gt;:((((((( he nvr listens to me’<br/>
[JAEHYUN]<br/>
‘does he listen to anyone?’<br/>
[TAEYONG]<br/>
‘no &gt;:(‘<br/>
</p><p>
Thankfully it was only another ten minutes and then the coast was clear. Yuta, who somehow still hadn’t noticed Jaehyun on the sofa, slumped against the countertop. The coworker with bright red hair started talking to him. If Jaehyun had to guess he was trying to get Yuta to leave if the worry in his eyes was anything to go by. The mischievous coworker made eye contact with Jaehyun and was on Yuta in a second. Whatever he said had Yuta getting off the counter and coming his way. He didn’t open his eyes the whole way over and while Jaehyun was worried he was also impressed when Yuta didn’t run into the counter, or the tables, or the plants.<br/>
</p><p>
Yuta didn’t say anything and flopped down next to Jaehyun. His head instantly fell onto Jaehyun’s shoulder.<br/>
</p><p>
“Taeyong is upset you didn’t listen to him.” Yuta grunted in reply. “It’s okay to take a day off.” Yuta shook his head. Jaehyun snorted and grabbed Yuta’s hand. “Take a nap, I’ll wake you up.” Yuta hummed. He laced their fingers together before becoming a dead weight on Jaehyun’s side.<br/>
</p><p>
Jaehyun watched as Yuta fell asleep. The morning sunlight hit his face, making him glow. The bandage on his head peeked through his white hair that was almost completely out of the loose ponytail. With Jaehyun’s free hand he pushed Yuta’s hair behind his ear. Murmurs from the counter distracted him and he found three pairs of eyes watching him. The red head quickly looked away while the other two gave him a thumbs up. The mischievous one came over and whispered,<br/>
</p><p>
“When he wakes up just take him home. If he fights you tell him I said it’s more work for us to look after him anyways.” With another thumbs up and a wink the part timer went back to the other two. They huddled together and Jaehyun had a feeling they were gossiping about a certain coworker. </p><p>Thirty minutes had passed. Yuta was still sleeping peacefully on Jaehyun’s shoulder. His breathing was even, Jaehyun could feel it against his side. Before he was lulled into sleep he squeezed Yuta’s hand.<br/>
</p><p>
“Yuta, Yuta,” he said, “Yuta, wake up.” Yuta whined. “You can sleep at home.” Yuta shot up at that.<br/>
</p><p>
“No, I hafta work,” he mumbled, eyes still not open.<br/>
</p><p>
“Your coworker said it’s more work watching you.” Yuta’s eyes opened a sliver.<br/>
</p><p>
“Really?” When Jaehyun nodded Yuta glared at the boys. Jaehyun stood up and tugged on Yuta’s hand.<br/>
</p><p>
“Let’s go. The faster you get better the faster you can come back.” Yuta paused, not moving, and the mischievous coworker groaned so loudly.<br/>
</p><p>
“Please just leave! Now is not the time to be stubborn! Let your boyfriend take care of you,” the coworker said loud enough for them and anyone else in the cafe to hear. The other two boys were trying to hide their smiles from Yuta. Jaehyun was absolutely on fire. Yuta, on the other hand, just looked annoyed.<br/>
</p><p>
“We’re-“ Yuta started, stopped, huffed, then stood up. “Fine. But I’ll be back tomorrow Donghyuck,” he threatened. Donghyuck(?) hugged the tallest coworker, who wrapped his arms around him, and pretended to cry. The taller one followed along in the dramatics. The red head looked like he wanted to die from embarrassment.<br/>
</p><p>
“Oh no, the catboy is threatening me.” Yuta just sighed in reply to that and Donghyuck stopped his acting and frowned at that.<br/>
</p><p>
“Call me if there’s a problem.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Only if the store’s on fire,” said the red head. Donghyuck gave him a high-five. Yuta didn’t bother replying and he and Jaehyun, still holding hands, left the cafe. Yuta hesitated outside the cafe.<br/>
</p><p>
“I can go back to my apartment, if you want,” Yuta said.<br/>
</p><p>
“Only if you want to, but I did promise Taeyong I’d keep an eye on you.” Yuta scrunched his nose up. He grumbled something under his breath then said,<br/>
</p><p>
“Let’s go to your apartment then.”<br/>
</p><p>
The walk was uneventful. Yuta struggled to stay awake during a walk and he reassured Jaehyun it’s just a side effect of last night. Used too much energy. Jaehyun let it slide because really he didn’t know how the body of a supernatural being works.<br/>
</p><p>
At the apartment Jaehyun led Yuta to his bed, said nothing to draw attention to it, tucked Yuta in, and watched him pass out within seconds. After leaving a glass of water by the bedside Jaehyun went into the living room and decided to work on his cover.</p><p>Yuta slept 24 hours. Twenty. Four.<br/>
</p><p>
Once it hit the 12 hours mark Jaehyun had texted Taeyong again, a little worried about Yuta. Taeyong rushed to his apartment after the text but when he saw Yuta was breathing and sleeping peacefully he told Jaehyun that maybe texting with a little more context and not just saying ‘I don’t think Yuta is okay’ would be smart so Taeyong wouldn’t have a heart attack. Jaehyun apologized. A lot.<br/>
</p><p>
He found out it was normal. Well, not that being attacked was normal for them, rather it’s not odd that after using their powers to that extreme that they’d hit this level of exhaustion.<br/>
</p><p>
"First you sleep it off. Then once you're awake you drink about a gallon of water and as much food as you can get your hands on," Taeyong lectured, standing in front of the sofa while Jaehyun sat and listened.<br/>
</p><p>
"Well, we have plenty of food," Jaehyun said and motioned towards the bag of cat food. Taeyong hid his laugh behind his hand in a feeble attempt to not betray Yuta in his time of need.<br/>
</p><p>
“You know he’d kill you if you gave him that.”<br/>
</p><p>
So that’s how they found themselves at a local grocery store 30 minutes before closing. Taeyong easily led the way through the aisle, putting more and more in that cart. Jaehyun was scared to ask if this was just for tonight or if Taeyong finally snapped and was tired of seeing how little food Jaehyun kept in his kitchen. It was an impressive feat because they were in and out within 15 minutes, both of them with arms full of groceries.<br/>
</p><p>
“I got him some snacks so he can eat that while we cook,” Taeyong said while he helped Jaehuyn put everything away. It really shouldn’t surprise him how well Taeyong knows his kitchen since he lived here as a cat but seeing it, Taeyong as Taeyong and not Apple, it was still going to take some getting used to.<br/>
</p><p>
“Do you think he’ll be out for much longer?” Jaehyun was organizing his fridge that was actually getting full of different vegetables, kimchi, drinks—he wonders if Doyoung would be proud of him.<br/>
</p><p>
Taeyong glanced at the clock on the microwave. “Probably...I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t get up until tomorrow morning.”<br/>
</p><p>
And Taeyong’s hypothesis turned out to be true.<br/>
</p><p>
Eight in the morning rolled around and so did Yuta. Blinking with eyes crusted over in sleep, blanket on his shoulders like a cape, and long hair messy and tangled, Yuta stood still in the living room. Jaehyun, who had been up just in case, stared at the endearing sleepy man in his apartment. Yuta stared at Jaehyun’s dimple smile. Something was rolling around in his head but all that came out was,<br/>
</p><p>
“Hungry.” His voice was thick, rough with sleep. Taeyong’s laugh could be heard down the hall. Jaehyun's fond smile only grew.<br/>
</p><p>
“Taeyong got some snacks to hold you over while we cook,” Jaehyun said. The three of them met in the kitchen, Yuta taking his spot at the dining table with the blanket practically eating him as he ate his apple slices (that looked more like misshapen chunks), Taeyong got to work slicing up the meat and vegetables, and Jaehyun washed the rice. (‘I can help cut the vegetables' Jaehuyn had offered. Taeyong gave Yuta’s apple slices a pathetic look before saying ‘just leave it to me’)<br/>
</p><p>
Jaehyun put a gallon of water next to Yuta’s empty plate. He turned away, chopped up another apple, and turned back to find the gallon of water empty. Yuta’s head was against the table and Jaehyun could see how heavily he was breathing.<br/>
</p><p>
“Are you okay?” He placed the plate in the middle of the table so it wouldn’t get knocked over.<br/>
</p><p>
“No.” Jaehyun pat Yuta on the back.</p><p>Yuta had recovered by the time breakfast was done. There was kimchi fried rice, baked salmon, salad, miso soup, and tiny donuts. Taeyong had made plates for the two of them before setting all the food in front of Yuta. With how he chugged the water, Jaehyun agreed that it was a smart idea.<br/>
</p><p>
Breakfast was mostly just Jaehyun and Taeyong making small talk, with Taeyong in between telling Yuta to slow down or he’ll get sick, until the food was finished.<br/>
</p><p>
Yuta stood up straight, stretched his arms over his head, cracked his neck, and looked more alive than even before the fight.<br/>
</p><p>
“Thank you for the food,” Yuta said with a bright smile towards both of them.<br/>
</p><p>
“I’m glad you’re feeling better Yuta,” Taeyong said. He pat Yuta on the head. “I do have to go now though.” Yuta pouted and reached out to grab Taeyong’s hand. “I know you’re feeling better but don’t overdo it just yet. You had us both worried.” Yuta sighed.<br/>
</p><p>
“I won’t, I won’t.”<br/>
</p><p>
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Jaehyun reassured Taeyong.<br/>
</p><p>
“What would I do without you Jaehyun.”<br/>
</p><p>
After Taeyong left Yuta smirked at Jaehyun, nudging him with his shoulder.<br/>
</p><p>
“So, we’re spending the day together?”<br/>
</p><p>
“I’m sure you’d like that.” Jaehyun had his own mischievous smile, “since you had a plan for if we started dating.” Yuta’s face went red at that.<br/>
</p><p>
“You’re the one who comes to the coffee shop to see me,” Yuta retorted and successfully got Jaehyun red in the face as well. Yuta straight out laughed at Jaehyun’s red ears. “Ah, that’s so cute. Let’s go on a date.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Right now?”<br/>
</p><p>
“Yeah.”<br/>
</p><p>
“I would say yes but you should probably rest.” Yuta rolled his eyes.<br/>
</p><p>
“Fine, we stay inside and watch a movie then?” Yuta grinned. “Then you can practice your singing later.” That’s when the next realization hit Jaehyun. Yuta, as Cherry, had heard him singing for a while now.<br/>
</p><p>
“That’s why you picked Fly Me To The Moon.” Jaehyun faked a hurt look as he continued. “And the cat tree, you made me get the expensive one for you.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Yes, and I would do it again. This tree—“ Yuta motioned to the cat tree that sat proudly in the living room, “—is one of the best I’ve gotten to jump around. You know, you’re accepting this cat thing way quicker than I thought you would.” Jaehyun shrugged.<br/>
</p><p>
“Johnny is a vampire so I’m really not surprised.” Yuta went completely still.<br/>
</p><p>
“You knew about supernatural beings before me?” His eyes were wide as he looked over Jaehyun. “Wait, you are human right? You smell like one.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Nope.” There was a beat of silence between them. Yuta narrowed his eyes. Jaehyun just stood there, face blank.<br/>
</p><p>
“You’re lying to me,” Yuta declared as he pulled Jaehyun to the sofa. “You almost had me but you can’t hide a human scent.” As casually as he possibly could, Jaehyun tried to sniff himself. They both flopped down onto the sofa and Yuta grabbed Jaehyun’s laptop.<br/>
</p><p>
“Maybe I’ll ask Johnny to turn me into a vampire,” Jaehyun said without much thought. Yuta paused his typing. He turned to Jaehyun, pursed his lips as if he was thinking it over, then nodded.<br/>
</p><p>
“That would be really hot.”<br/>
</p><p>
They spent the rest of the day like that. Netflix was on in the background regardless if they were paying attention or not and they’d jump topics faster than some of the movies changed scenes. Around midday when the sun was bright through the windows in the living room and hitting Yuta’s body just right he fell asleep. He leaned against Jaehyun, just like the day before at the coffee shop, and snoozed in the sunlight. Between the lull of the animated movie Yuta put on, the warmth, and Yuta’s slow breathing against him, Jaehyun's eyes dropped.</p><p> </p><p>The walk home from the studio was soothing. The air was crisp, wind gentle with hints of autumn. While the moon was bright the city lights were brighter. Life along the street had died down with only a group of friends hending downtown and other late night workers catching buses home.<br/>
</p><p>
He finally did it. He finally sang again.<br/>
</p><p>
Jaehyun smiled at the giddy feeling blooming in his chest.<br/>
</p><p>
His manager thankfully didn’t put up a huge fuss when he saw the comments Jaehyun was getting. Their listeners absolutely loved it. ‘It’s his deep sexy voice, right?’ Johnny asked their viewers and when they actually responded positively Jaehyun thanked them all. The attention, the compliments, to have people actually have something nice to say about him that wasn’t just looks made his stomach flip. The viewers had fun pointing out his red ears too.<br/>
</p><p>
“There you are!” Jaehyun heard before he felt someone bump into him. “You did great. I’m so proud of you Jaehyun.”<br/>
Yuta stood next to him looking cozy in an oversized hoodie and his hair down. The way his eyes lit up in the streetlights and his smile showed his teeth—he looked as giddy as Jaehyun felt.<br/>
</p><p>
“You were listening?”<br/>
</p><p>
“Of course I was! I made them turn it on in the cafe.”<br/>
</p><p>
“The whole cafe was listening?” He knew during the evening hours there wasn’t as many people in the cafe, and those who were there usually had their earbuds in and stacks of textbooks to keep them busy, but something about how Yuta so readily showed him off for this voice made him smile even wider.<br/>
</p><p>
“Yup. Donghyuck and Yangyang were surprised you could sing. Keep this up and they’ll be your fans too.”<br/>
</p><p>
“Too? Who else?” Jaehyun nudged him with his shoulder and Yuta rolled his eyes.<br/>
</p><p>
“You already know.”<br/>
</p><p>
“I really don’t.” Jaehyun tried his best to look clueless but he knew Yuta wouldn’t believe him.<br/>
</p><p>
“Guess you never will.”<br/>
</p><p>
“My boyfriend is keeping secrets from me?” Jaehyun shook his head. Yuta cackled before he leaned over to press a kiss against Jaehyun’s cheek.<br/>
</p><p>
“You’re the one who doesn’t know you’re number one fan. If anything I’m the one that should be pouting right now.” Jaehyun grabbed Yuta’s hand and laced their fingers together.<br/>
</p><p>
“I’m glad you tuned in since you were the one who picked the song.”<br/>
</p><p>
“I’ve been listening to you practice for weeks now, I knew you were going to do great.” Jaehyun, still giddy from the praise and now receiving even more, pressed a quick kiss against Yuta’s lips. Yuta didn’t let him pull away and pressed in for another kiss. When they broke away they were both smiling with rosy cheeks.<br/>
</p><p>
“As romantic as this is.” Yuta pinched Jaehyun's dimple. “Is it weird that this is happening where you found me as a cat?” Jaehyun couldn’t hold back the bark of a laugh and Yuta quickly followed. Yuta pulled Jaehyun along by their linked hands. The air between them was light, happy, giddy as they walked towards Jaehyun’s apartment where they’re sure Taeyong is waiting to sing his praises for Jaehyun as well.</p><p>“So...did you ever ask Johnny about the vampire thing?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>haha gottem boys</p><p>hi this is my first nct fic lmaoooooo lemme know if y’all liked it</p></blockquote></div></div>
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